On March 31, 2020, the United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) levied its largest monetary penalty to date of GBP 20.47 million. OFSI penalized Standard Chartered for loans to Denizbank, a Turkish bank that was majority owned by Sberbank, a state-owned Russian bank. Accordingly, those loans violated European Union restrictions on making certain … Continue Reading
The onshore and offshore courts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—that is to say, the courts in “mainland” UAE and the courts in the free zones of the UAE, respectively—have issued a number of recent convictions for fraud. In one noteworthy case, the Dubai Court held a local bank responsible for an AED 4.7 million … Continue Reading
Following a ruling issued last week by a federal judge in Texas, ExxonMobil Corporation (“ExxonMobil”) will not have to pay a previously issued penalty for contracting with Russia’s state-owned PJSC Rosneft Oil Company (“Rosneft”), since it was not provided fair notice by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) that … Continue Reading
On August 9, 2019, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador passed legislation that added corruption to the catalogue of criminal conduct subject to asset forfeiture proceedings. Mexico’s new Ley Nacional de Extinción de Dominio (Asset Forfeiture Law), in conjunction with harmonizing amendments to the Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales (National Code of Civil Procedure), empowers … Continue Reading
In an earlier post, here, we examined the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (“GloMag”), which was formally implemented by an Executive Order that declared “serious human rights abuses and corruption globally” as an emergency threat to U.S. interests. The President delegated his authority under GloMag to the Global Targeting Office of the U.S. Department … Continue Reading
In an earlier post, here, we examined Law No. 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organizations, the new Federal AML Law enacted by the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) to ensure best practice anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. In this post, we consider how the UAE’s two … Continue Reading
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization founded 30 years ago to develop and uphold policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, is conducting a peer review (or “mutual evaluation”) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year. FATF last assessed the UAE in 2008, and found the country’s systems and frameworks … Continue Reading
The Italian Government recently approved a bill known as the Spazzacorrotti, or “Bribe Destroyer.” The anti-establishment Movimento 5 Stelle, or Five Star Movement, which took office after campaigning to tackle bribery, has been championing the bill as a “revolution in the fight against corruption” that would allegedly save the country billions of euros. However, the same … Continue Reading
His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has decreed various updates to Federal Law No. 3 of 1987, known as the UAE Penal Code, that bring the country’s bribery and corruption legislation positively into line with other regimes in other jurisdictions.… Continue Reading
Five months after Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary of the US Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, presented five of the hallmarks of an effective sanctions compliance program, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has finally published long-awaited guidance for national and international organizations subject to its regulation (the Framework). OFAC is the organization responsible for administering and enforcing US economic … Continue Reading
It is said that the history of tax avoidance is as long as the history of tax. One of the latest tax avoidance strategies, which has seemingly crossed the line to illegal tax evasion, is that of “Cum-Ex” share trading, sometimes referred to as “dividend stripping.” For the past few years, German authorities have led … Continue Reading
The European Union recently removed the United Arab Emirates from the list of Uncooperative Tax Havens. The UAE achieved this goal after enhancing the substance and transparency of its taxation procedures. Tax analysts believe this action will make the UAE an even more attractive destination for foreign investment in future.… Continue Reading
The UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act signifies major changes to the UK’s anti-money laundering and sanctions regimes. Britain’s overseas territories, often criticized as tax havens, are now required to establish public registries of beneficial corporate ownership by December 31, 2020. The Act also includes a Magnitsky Amendment, modeled on U.S. law, enabling sanctions against … Continue Reading
This month, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who served from 2009 to 2018 as Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister, pleaded not guilty to three new money-laundering charges related to the alleged multibillion-dollar looting of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”), a Kuala Lumpur-based strategic development company that is wholly owned by the Malaysian Ministry of Finance. The … Continue Reading
A recent landmark change to Singapore’s criminal justice system providing for Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”), or voluntary alternatives to adjudication, should increase corporate accountability for acts of bribery, corruption, and money laundering.… Continue Reading
In the first part of this two-part post, we looked at some of the infamous cases that may explain repeated attempts by Theresa May, first as Home Secretary and later as Prime Minister, to dismantle the SFO, see here. Our attentions now turn to the important role the SFO continues to play in combatting corruption, … Continue Reading
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) recently received an unexpected, yet significant, increase in baseline funding for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The funding boost comes in spite of Prime Minister Theresa May’s previous efforts, following several high-profile prosecutorial setbacks for the SFO, to fold it into the UK’s National Crime Agency (“NCA”). Relatedly, a new … Continue Reading
Having looked comparatively at the approaches of certain authorities around the world to addressing and mitigating the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, our attentions now turn to the emerging position of regulators in the U.S., which is often considered the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency market. In the first two parts of this three-part post, we examined “cryptocompliance” … Continue Reading
In the first part of this three-part post, we examined “cryptocompliance” as an emerging focus of various Asian regulators, click here. Next, we analyze European (and intergovernmental) attitudes. As will become clear, there is perhaps a healthy blend on display between “cryptocaution” and “cryptofriendliness.” Countries such as the UK and France are making an effort … Continue Reading
The first ever bitcoin transaction occurred in 2009. Despite bitcoin’s meteoric rise in value since then, from 1 cent per coin in May 2010 to USD 17,900 per coin in December 2017, governments around the world have been extraordinarily slow to respond and implement regulatory regimes. In this three-part post, we look at “cryptocompliance” as … Continue Reading
The Kingdom of Bahrain recently filed its statement of defence in an ongoing UNCITRAL arbitration in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) in The Hague against Iranian financial institutions Bank Melli and Bank Saderat. The statement of defence cites a Bahraini government audit evidencing a multibillion-dollar corruption scheme perpetrated by Bank Melli and Bank Saderat … Continue Reading
In line with its Sanctioning Guidelines, the World Bank recently debarred four companies for corporate misconduct in countries across Southern Asia. Debarment excludes the companies temporarily from bidding on World Bank-financed contracts and effectively prevents them from accessing World Bank financing.… Continue Reading
On February 13, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”), pursuant to the USA Patriot Act, seeking to prohibit the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account in the United States for, or on behalf of, ABLV Bank, AS (“ABLV”). Details of Allegations … Continue Reading